Why I won't use the dealer for servicing!

[Nobbylad]

OK -so up until Saturday, I was happy to 'pay the extra' and get the dealer I bought my bike from to do the servicing.

I felt that with me needing to get a stamp for the warranty and also by keeping my custom with the dealer, I'd be set.

However, booked the bike in for 2pm on Sat for the 7.5k service. Got there at 2pm and they said they were running behind, so they wouldn't start it until around 2.30pm. No worries.

They said it would take around 2hrs and didn't have a bike I could take out...again, no worries...they've given me bikes in the past to take out (which they aren't obliged to) so I was happy to have a much around the showroom at some of the bikes/kit etc and drink vending machine coffee.

I'd specifically asked them to look at the front for wear/looseness as it's been a bit wobbly of late and also asked them to suss out the clunking noise I get at low speeds which in the past I have thought might be the chain hitting the hugger (that's what it sounds like), even though the tension is correct.

Anyway, says to me just after 3pm that they're starting on my bike....they finish at 5pm so I was thinking they'd just make it. Comes to 3.30pm and it's only just going in.

4.45pm they wheel it out and want £101 for parts/labour. Not bad I think, "Did you change the plugs?" I asked, "No - it doesn't need it" was the reply.

Well it says in the book it does and for the amount of time they had the bike in there, they've clearly only changed the oil/filter. I asked them if they'd looked at the front and he says that the tyre pressure was 28psi....which is wierd because I checked the tyre pressures on Thursday and it was 32 at the front and 36 at the rear, the same as when I checked them the weekend before. In the 7 months I've had my bike, it's never lost 4psi in a few days! He also said the chain needed lubing, which again was wierd as it was fine on Thursday and the Scottoiler is set at a higher flow than normal due to the cold/wet weather.

The 7.5k service also requires the throttle bodies to be checked/balanced and whilst I didn't specifically ask, I doubt they did that.

Granted, when I pulled him about the plugs he said pop in again and he'll do them free of charge, but the reason for using them in the 1st place is for peace of mind, thinking that all the checks would be done from someone more competent/knowledgeable than I. For them to just do a straight oil/filter change doesn't inspire confidence.

From now on I'll be looking for someone more local (this dealer is half an hour from me) and who inspires confidence i.e. not afraid to have you hang around and watch while they do the service and give you advice etc.

Hmm, i find that most dealers don't know what they are doing half the time (just from my experience). I've ended up doing whatever i can with both my car and my bike, then hunting down a decent specialist whos name i can trust to do anything thats above my head. Its always small things like that which put people off, if they cant get thoose right what chance have they got with something bigger!

[Viney]

Hmm, personaly i dont see why you are moaning. As long as they didnt charge you for the plugs etc, then fair enough. I dont think my dealer changed my 1st set of plugs for 16000 miles. As long as they are clean and gapped and servicable, then why change them 'Just because the book says'

I would say that they done the right thing and didnt change parts just because. The cost was about right. Its always an hour or part thereof at about £60ish and hour plus £40 for filter and oil.

yesh, though to be fair i do everything myself and have done for a long while whenit comes to bikes, especially on my bmw. but if i ever get badly stuck i do know my mate is a bmw motorrad tech so i drag him round!!LOL

i know not everyone is as lucky, but i do think at last follow the genuine service schedule and using genuine parts does make a difference, though not necessarily using a genuine dealer... rather go to some trusted/reccommeded by word of mouth by friends etc...


that said the company car goes to the dealer... hell its not mine anyway, im not paying and if it brakes then work stump a hire car. and if it dies before the 3years are up then i get a new car anyway. kinda win-win really on that one!

[fizzwheel]

Its harsh though to say "all dealers are carp", I've had good, bad and indifferent service, its not the dealer network, its the people that work there.

MotoRapido in Winchester are a main Ducati dealer and the service Liz received in there when she took her Ducati in for service was fantastic.

I used to take my VW to the main dealer in Yeovil, before I even got to the desk to book my car in the service receptionist remembered my name, would say "good morning Mr Gillard" and have my car details up on the computer before I'd even sat down to tell her what I needed doing on the car.

That saying my local Suzuki dealer have gone to pot, but thats because they treat their staff like dirt and all the decent staff have left...

[Nobbylad]

Originally Posted by Viney

Hmm, personaly i dont see why you are moaning. As long as they didnt charge you for the plugs etc, then fair enough. I dont think my dealer changed my 1st set of plugs for 16000 miles. As long as they are clean and gapped and servicable, then why change them 'Just because the book says'

I would say that they done the right thing and didnt change parts just because. The cost was about right. Its always an hour or part thereof at about £60ish and hour plus £40 for filter and oil.

My main point is that I don't reckon they did anything other than change the oil/filter. Which makes me wonder whether they did the checks they were supposed to on the previous services. I'm not really paying them for the oil and filter change per se as I can easily do that myself, instead I'm paying for the more complicated (to me) work such as synch'ing the throttle bodies and general checks that an experienced engineer would do as well as the general 'security' of knowing the bike has been properly serviced by someone who knows what they are doing.

[Viney]

I understand, but 1hr 15 mins os more thn enough to give the bike a once over and if needed check and balance the throttle bodies. If they are quiet, you will porbably having 2 people working on your bike. If youa re not happy then fine, look for another servcing place, or do it yourself.
My bike was dealer serviced for the 1s4 years of its life, and if they did or didnt do everything, its now 8 years and 60000 miles and is still happy.

Given that you now seem to think the dealership stamp isn't worth the money, why not start servicing yourself?

If knowledge is an issue I can show you how to do most basic stuff easily. If you remind me, I can bring my CarbTune to the next BP meet we're both, and check/balance TB with just the tools in the stock toolkit (plus CarbTune).

Save yourself a shed load of money doing the work yourself!

[Nobbylad]

Bike is on finance and terms dictate I need the stamp for warranty etc.

Originally Posted by Nobbylad

Bike is on finance and terms dictate I need the stamp for warranty etc.

In that case, do what I did.

Basically when I bought the bike I told them I'd be doing high mileage. I had a chat with them shoftly after buying the bike, basically showing that I know what I'm talking about with regards servicing.

They then said that so long as I bought the parts from them, I could get anyone I liked to do the work (even do it myself), and they'd still stamp the book. Any claims for the warranty would of gone through them anyway.

It's a little odd that the finance dictates the servicing though. Could you not get the stamp from whoever it needs to be (by getting them to service it), then check things over yourself for peace of mind?